COVID-19 Has Now Claimed 300,000 Americans Amid Pfizer Vaccine Launch in U.S.

Today has been both a blessing and a curse when it comes to COVID-19.

The blessing has come in the form of the Pfizer vaccine which began being disseminated to Americans starting with health care workers this morning exactly one week after its launch in the U.K.

The curse is that COVID-19 has now claimed the lives of more than 300,000 Americans this year. According to Johns Hopkins University, 300,456 Americans have died of COVID-19 as the number of cases nears 16.5 million (16,420,309). This represents a mortality rate of 1.8%.

The put this number into perspective, there have been 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in this country since September 22nd. Put another way, 1 out of every 3 Americans who have died of COVID-19 have passed away in just 82 days. 

Here's more sobering news. The U.S. has added 50,000 COVID-19 deaths in the last 26 days. I shudder to think how many days it will be before we reach 350,000 COVID-19 deaths - vaccine or no vaccine.  

There's little doubt the Pfizer vaccine (and others like it) will bring long term relief to this country and all over the world. But we've only just started giving first shots. Let's not forget this is a two shot deal. If you're not a health care worker, live in a long term care facility or are a member of the Trump White House (at least until a few hours ago) who knows when you will actually be inoculated. 

Until we know the answer to that question and until Americans get two sets of injections more Americans are going to be infected, more Americans will be hospitalized and more Americans are going to continue to die. That is the awful truth.